


you're all i need, underneath the tree

by carefulren



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Illnesses, Kylux - Freeform, M/M, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Sick Character, Sick Kylo, Sickfic, Whump, barista hux, everyone is alive bc i make the rules
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:15:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22022404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carefulren/pseuds/carefulren
Summary: The plan is to get into the mall, buy presents, then leave. Passing out is not a part of Kylo's plan.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren
Comments: 15
Kudos: 128





	you're all i need, underneath the tree

Kylo never meant to procrastinate. Finals came up, and as a junior in college with a full course load in a poor attempt to hopefully make his senior year go by in an easy breeze, he hasn’t had time to Christmas shop. To make matters worse, he hasn’t thought about it at all. He completely forgot it was even December until Rey texted him on the 23rd that she couldn’t wait for everyone to get together and exchange gifts.

Online shopping is out of the question, so Kylo drives himself to the mall. It’s cold outside, and it’s been snowing steadily for a few days now, but he can’t help but feel rather warm.

He leaves his coat in his car and tugs at his collar as he walks in the middle of a a mass of shoppers toward the entrance. Beads of sweat are clinging to his forehead, and he wipes them away with the back of his hand.

He’s immediately overwhelmed the second he walks into the mall, and as flurries of shoppers whip past him, he finds himself growing breathless. His chest is burning, and his throat feels uncomfortably dry. He’s never been much of a people person, so he’s not surprised his anxiety is spiking.

He sighs out a puff of hot hair and lightly massages his temples. His head is pounding, but it’s insanely loud in the mall. Loud and crowded, and he feels a little light-headed, but he powers forward, running through the mental check list in his head of what to get everyone.

He has everyone down except Finn– he’s not even sure why he has to get a present for him. They aren’t friends necessarily, only really knowing each other through Rey, but Rey mentioned something about Finn getting him something, so now he’s tied down by obligation.

He walks into a record shop. He can knock out half his list in this one store thanks to family and friends with classic tastes. He maneuvers around people, constantly muttering “excuse me” or “I’m sorry” as he utilizes his height and long limbs to reach around shoppers for what he’s looking for.

It’s unbearably hot in the store. He can feel sweat sliding down his neck, and his head is swimming in a sea of pulsing pain. There’s pressure behind his eyes, and his throat feels weird. He keeps clearing it despite the pain it brings, but it’s only getting worse.

Definitely anxiety, he tells himself when what feels like the hundredth person bumps into him. He makes a beeline for the check-out line, swaying slightly on his feet. The cashier shoots him a curious frown, and he waves it off with a forced smile as he grabs his bags after a good twenty minutes of waiting in line.

He staggers out of the store. His heart is pounding in his chest. Blood is rushing loudly in his ears, and he takes a moment to lean against the wall outside of the store. He runs a trembling hand through his hair, grimacing at how damp it is.

There’s a small coffee vendor across from him, and seeing the drinks being passed to customers has him stepping forward. He’ll ask for a water– he just needs to sit and cool down for a few minutes. It’s been a while since he’s been around so many people. His anxiety is just–

His thoughts come to an abrupt stop when his vision blacks out for a second. He sways, blinking away the darkness, but the heat is becoming suffocating, and he can’t manage to breathe through the grayness covering him. His hands are shaking as bad as his knees, and he’s faintly aware of a few people stopping to stare at him before his legs give out just as everything around him goes black.

*****

“Here’s your tea, ma’am. I apologize for the wait.” Hux frowns. The customer he’s speaking to is more focused on something behind her. “Ma’am?”

“I think that young man is about to faint.” She takes the drink from Hux, distracted, and Hux follows her eyes to see Kylo from his anatomy and physiology class swaying on his feet.

“Hey, isn’t that the guy you’ve been thirsting after since the start of the semester?”

Hux doesn’t hear Phasma come up to his side, but he does hear the loud gasps, his included, when Kylo hits the ground with a loud thump. Silence follows– it’s almost eerie considering how loud everything’s been all day.

“Oh shit,” Phasma curses as Hux pushes away from the counter, shoving past bystanders with aggravated grunts until he makes it to Kylo’s side. Panic sets in when he realizes that Kylo’s still not awake, and he drops to his knees beside him, patting his cheek with a sharp frown. His skin is burning– Hux isn’t a doctor quite yet, but by feel alone, he can safely say Kylo’s running a fever well over 102 degrees Fahrenheit. 

He shakes Kylo’s shoulder repeatedly until finally, Kylo slowly blinks open hazy eyes.

“Do you want me to call an ambulance?”

Phasma’s suddenly at his side with her phone out. She looks as worried as he feels, but he shakes his head. “Can you get everyone to leave?”

“On it,” Phasma says before spinning around and shouting at the gaping bystanders.

Hux tunes her out easily, pulling all of his focus toward Kylo. “Hey,” he says softly, and when Kylo tries to sit up with a sharp wince, Hux braces an arm around Kylo’s shoulders. “Easy. You fainted.”

Kylo’s disoriented– he can’t wrap his mind around a single thought. He feels like he’s moving underwater, and it takes far too long to supply a name to the very familiar face before him.

“Hux,” he croaks out.

“Well, good news is you probably aren’t concussed,” Hux starts, chasing the small swell of relief when Kylo muttered his name. “However, you’re burning up. Can you stand?”

Kylo sucks in a few, measured breaths. When he’s able to make out his surroundings a little more, he nods slowly, and Hux carefully helps him to his feet.

He leads Kylo to an unoccupied table close to the coffee stand and eases him onto the chair. “How are you doing?” he asks, eyeing Kylo’s heaving chest with furrowed brows.

“Dizzy,” Kylo mutters, dropping his burning face into hand and massaging his temples.

“Just hang tight,” Hux says, spinning on his heel. He starts toward the coffee stand, prepared to grab his things and a water for Kylo, but Phasma meets him halfway with his keys, coat, and a size large ice water.

“How is he?”

“Not so great,” Hux admits, raking slender fingers through his hair with a sigh. “But I do know that he’s a fucking idiot for coming here while this sick.” He takes his things with a small shake of the head. “Can you cover me?”

“Of course.” Phasma winks, and he rolls his eyes.

“Don’t be tempted to take advantage of him in this state.”

“Don’t be so inappropriate,” Hux fires back before spinning sharply on his heel.

Kylo’s still upright when he gets back to the table, and he seems a bit more lucid. He sits the cup of water in front of Kylo, nodding to it silently as he takes the seat across from Kylo.

For a few minutes, Kylo only sips slowly at the water. His mind is a little clearer, and he’s able to fully assess how fucked the entire situation is. And of course, Hux was the one to step up and help him– Hux and his fucking lean stature and sharp angles, and narrow, studying eyes.

He sighs deeply. “I thought I was having an anxiety attack.”

“What?” Hux quirks his head to the side slightly, a frown playing at his lips, and Kylo won’t admit it out loud, but he can’t stand to see Hux upset.

“This,” he gestures weakly toward himself. “I felt kind of bad, but I thought it was just my anxiety acting up because of all the people and chaos.”

Hux’s briefly shoots him a borderline unreadable expression before he sighs and leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re easily sporting a fever over 102 degrees.”

“Yeah,” Kylo mumbles. “I can feel that now.” Pain is gnawing at his head, and he’s exhausted. His muscles are practically yearning to be in bed, and he still has a good twenty minute drive back to home.

“I appreciate your help,” he starts, wishing more than anything else to be out of this entire situation. “But, I should go.” He makes to get up, but gravity isn’t playing on his side because he’s toppling over before he can reach out to grab the table.

Instead of hitting the ground, he falls against Hux’s chest. “Fuck,” he mutters, face growing impossibly red. “I’m sorry–”

“–It’s fine,” Hux interrupts, and Kylo meets his sharp, worried eyes.

“I’ll drive you home. My car isn’t far, and we can cut through an employee entrance.”

“You don’t have to–”

“–you won’t make it back to your car in your current state. Just let me help you, Kylo.”

Kylo doesn’t argue– Hux has always been one you can’t really argue with, but even if he was, Kylo wouldn’t know how to follow Hux calling him by his first name. They started calling each other by their last names when they first met in class because Kylo annoyed Hux and Hux found Kylo to be insufferable, and it just kind of stuck.

He can’t lie that the small sigh of his first name from Hux’s lips made his heart skip a beat, but he swallows back those feelings with a small nod. “Okay, thank you.”

“Lean on me, okay? You got lucky the first time, and I don’t want to ruin that track record by having you faint again and hit your head for real.”

The short walk to the employee entrance takes far longer than usual, but Hux doesn’t rush Kylo, and Kylo’s glad for it because is energy is waning. The second Hux opens the door and leads him outside, he sucks in a sharp shaking breath, pulling away from Hux to hug himself in a poor attempt to get warm.

Hux is halfway through pulling on his coat when he realizes Kylo’s shivering hard beside him in only a black, long-sleeve shirt.

“Where’s your coat?” Hux frowns. Kylo’s pallor has gone frighteningly pale, and he’s shaking hard from head to toe.

“My c-car,” Kylo chatters out, fingers digging into his arms. “F-fuck.”

Hux doesn’t hesitate to slip off his coat and drape it over Kylo’s shoulders, and like the dumb idiot Kylo is, he tries to protest.

“It’s f-fine. You’ll get cold–”

“–shut the fuck up, and put on the damn coat,” Hux spits out. The last thing he needs is Kylo passing out because his fever spiked while outside. “You need it more than me,” he adds, holding Kylo’s gaze with his own for an impossibly long minute.

By the time Kylo gives in and slips his arms through the coat sleeves, Hux is feeling chilled through, but he grits his teeth, grabs Kylo’s hand, and leads him the rest of the way to his car.

“Your freezing,” Kylo mutters as soon as Hux slips into the driver’s seat after helping Kylo into the passenger seat.

“I’m fine,” Hux spits out, pushing past his shaking voice as he starts the car and cranks up the heat. “I’m not the one running a nasty fever.” He pulls up the GPS on his phone. “Address?”

Kylo frowns at the small shiver that takes over Hux, but he rattles off his address around a few weak coughs. His throat is starting to burn, and he can’t stop shivering. He drops his head onto the window. The walk to Hux’s car really took everything out of him.

“Hey, stay with me, okay?” Hux cuts through Kylo’s haze with an uncharacteristically softer tone, and Kylo briefly lifts his head to meet Hux’s worried stare. “You’re going to be fine, so just try and stay awake until we can get you home.”

Easier said than done, Kylo thinks, but he nods, dropping his head back against the glass. “Thank you again,” he says, and Hux can here the sincerity cut through Kylo’s rough voice.

“You’re welcome,” he mutters, ignoring the flip of his heart as he pulls out of the parking lot.

**Author's Note:**

> I got this cute Christmas prompt on tumblr, and I decided to roll with Kylux for it. 
> 
> Hope everyone is having a great holiday season!


End file.
